#1 Hemiplegia: Can Your Child Lift Their Arm? 👦🏻 | Cerebral Palsy Pediatric PT

👋🏽 Hi, I’m Amy Sturkey, a retired pediatric physical therapist with over 35 years of experience. I am so excited for you to meet someone truly one of a kind—this is Devan. 👦🏻 His Momma Sue describes his mood as “sweet and sour.” I find him delightful, surprising, and challenging—all rolled into one. Hopefully, in these videos, you’ll get to see his sweet side. Devan is diagnosed with right hemiplegia from a perinatal left MCA stroke, along with a seizure disorder, aggressive behavior, muscle weakness, chronic insomnia disorder, ADHD, blindness in his right eye, developmental delay, mixed receptive-expressive language disorder, autism, duplication of chromosome 16, hypertropia, poor impulse control, and anxiety. He receives private physical and occupational therapy, along with speech therapy and vision services through school, and vocational rehabilitation. He lives with his Momma Sue and Pop and attends virtual school due to behavioral limitations. Working with Devan has taught me many lessons, sharpened my skills, and brought me a great deal of joy. I hope he will do the same for you. 🪑 What You’ll See in This Video In this session, I work with Devan on seated shoulder flexion of his right arm—raising his arm forward and overhead while maintaining his grip on a lightweight foam block. You’ll see: • Repeated reaching overhead with the involved arm • The added challenge of maintaining grasp during movement • Coaching for “squeeze tight” to reinforce grip • Trunk stabilization to reduce compensation from the back • Natural overflow into the opposite hand as he works 💡 Why This Helps Children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy often regain movement in this order: shoulder → elbow → grasp → wrist → forearm rotation This activity targets an important early step—shoulder movement—while also challenging grip at the same time. It helps: • Build shoulder strength for reaching • Improve grip strength and endurance • Encourage coordination between arm and hand • Support functional skills like reaching, carrying, and daily activities 🛠️ Practical Tips • Use a lightweight object that is easy to hold (foam works well) • Cue “squeeze tight” to reinforce grip • Watch for compensations like leaning back • Provide light trunk support if needed • Focus on quality over speed 🧩 Watch the entire playlist for Devan here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAkJbMrHyKjOIKzrx2Rj-qEsmTTeFtR-v ⚠️ Safety Note These videos are for educational purposes and are not a replacement for in-person physical therapy. Every child is unique. Please do not try these techniques if your child’s health or motor skills differ significantly from Devan’s. (I cannot provide treatment recommendations for a child I have not personally evaluated.) 📧 Contact amysturkey@gmail.com 🌐 Website www.pediatricPTexercises.com 🪶 Accessibility Closed captions have been reviewed and corrected. To turn on captions: Click CC To change languages: ⚙️ Settings → Subtitles/CC → Choose language or Auto-translate If captions block important details, they can be toggled off in the video player. 📚 Books by Amy Sturkey (Amazon) “P is for Poop and Pee Accidents” – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLSRJ483 “A is for Anxiety” – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LXQ3W6V “A is for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QH9H5HR “C is for Cerebral Palsy” – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088TSJCYP “D is for Down Syndrome” – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079P8HH49 “A is for Autism” – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071F4FFTB 🧠 Professional PT Books Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Hips – https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156736 Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Knees – https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156760 Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Ankles – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TX2ZCFD